Between the Lines is cancelled for 2025. Please see the IWP announcement for more information.
Between the Lines: Peace and the Writing Experience will take place from July 12 through July 26, 2025 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. The 2025 application period for U.S.-based students is now open! The deadline for applying to the program is March 17, 2025. We anticipate notifying selected students in May.
If you are interested in applying, it is best to start with the FAQs page to ensure that you are eligible. There is no fee to apply. The tuition for American students accepted to BTL: Peace and the Writing Experience is $2500. This includes room and board, materials, instructor fees, transportation during the program, and access to all extracurricular summer program activities.
Please reach out if you have any questions or need assistance with the application, we are more than happy to help iwp-betweenthelines@uiowa.edu.
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR U.S-BASED STUDENTS:
Please label all materials with your first and last name, send as an attachment to iwp-betweenthelines@uiowa.eduDocument types accepted: PDF, DOC, DOCX.
WRITING SAMPLES: A writing sample of 6–8 pages of original prose (creative fiction/ nonfiction) and/or poetry in English. Critical essays (book reports, academic reports, and so forth) will not be accepted; submissions may be one cohesive piece or several pieces of creative work to meet this requirement. Poems may be single-spaced with multiple poems per page. All writing samples must be sent in 12-point font, double-spaced, and have one-inch margins.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: A brief statement of purpose (no more than 250 words), in English, describing why creative writing is important in your life, and what you hope to learn at our program in Iowa.
PROMPT RESPONSE: A brief response (no longer than 300 words) to the following: “An essential component of Between the Lines is encouraging participants to explore the unfamiliar and unknown in a safe and supportive setting. Please describe a time in your past when you had to engage with a new situation, person, or idea that initially felt uncomfortable or strange. How did you proceed? If you had the chance, what would you do the same, and what would you do differently?”
APPLICATION FORM: Online application form, this document will be automatically sent to the email address. Please complete after you have emailed all other application materials per the requirements above.